Stuck in the Shadows
by aliceinwonderland24
Summary: Isabel Richards has just left her home down in Wilmington, North Carolina and is having a little trouble adjusting to the new life in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She thinks life will never be as good as it was before...until she meets Eli.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Eli Cunnings was my savior. I would like to say that I found him, but he found me. I met him down in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Eli grew up there with his dad and helped him run the local diner. I, on the other hand, spent most of my childhood in Wilmington, North Carolina. I've lived there with my little sister Melanie and my mom. We make our living by working on our farm all year round. Evidently, the farm got too much for the three of us so we had to sell it and move elsewhere.

My mom's brother Uncle Tommy owned a spare house down in Cedar Rapids so he let us stay there until we could buy back the farm. I wasn't very pleased with the selling of the farm and moving away from home, but I had to go with the flow. Or at least that's what my mom continued to tell me. She constantly told me that the farm was going to be well taken care of because Uncle Tommy bought the farm from us and promised to give it back once we got enough money. But no matter what it didn't change anything. We were still moving away and going to a place that we had never been before. Melanie kept telling me that I had no sense of adventure. Maybe I did, maybe I didn't either way my life changed completely.

We lived in Cedar Rapids for six months, and throughout that short amount of time all my dreams had come true. All because of Eli.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"Mom? Where exactly are we going again?" Melanie asked from the backseat of the car.

"Cedar Rapids Mel." She answered blankly with her eyes mesmerized to the highway.

"Are there farms in Cedar Rapids?"

"Yes baby there is. But not where we are going. We are going to be farther from farms and closer to cities and towns."

"But why? Why can't we have a farm here?"

"Because Mel, that's why we are coming out to Uncle Tommy's house in Iowa. I couldn't pay for the farm anymore." mom tried to explain to the little Miss. Questionnaire in the backseat.

"But…will we ever see the farm and the animals again?"

"I'm not sure. But we'll see what happens while we are here. Okay? One step at a time." That was one of my mom's favorite phrases to use. She used it when she didn't know what else to say. Living with my mom for 17 years makes you realize that you can read her like an open book. Which in my opinion isn't a very good trait for someone to have.

"Isabel? When we get there can you help Melanie unpack?" my mom says trying to get me to answer. But I don't.

Before we left Wilmington, North Carolina my mom and I got into a big fight. Basically, I told her that if she made me leave the farm I would never talk to her again. Well that was three weeks ago. Ever since…not even a single word has came out of my mouth. Melanie thinks I'm acting like a baby, but I know that she just doesn't understand. Neither does mom. They never will.

"Isabel? Isabel?" my mom yells trying to get me to answer her once more. I know that she doesn't want us to start unpacking when we get there. She just wants me to talk to her again. I think she misses it.

"Mom? Are we almost there?" Melanie asks my mom breaking a five second silence.

"We are almost there. It's about another twenty minutes."

"I can't wait to get there!"

"At least you are Mel. It looks like someone else isn't." Mom states before quickly taking her eyes off the road to glance at me. While she does this, I just continue to stare out the window. I want to go home.

As soon as the car approaches the driveway, I instantly know I'm going to hate this place. All that can be heard from inside the car is the sound of tire hitting gravel. The worst sound ever.

The sound that comes next only makes matters worse.

"Come on Mel! Come on Isabel! Get out of the car. We're here." My mom says before unbuckling her seatbelt and jumping out of the car. As soon as mom gets out Melanie follows behind. I sit in the car for a few extra seconds before taking a long hard sigh. _Just deal with it_, I think to myself before unbuckling my seatbelt as well and stepping out of the car.

I've never been to Uncle Tommy's spare house before. When I pictured the house I expected it to be a little wooden shack like house with one bathroom and rotting wood and bugs everywhere. But when I looked up at the house I didn't see a little wooden shack. I saw a glorious white three story house with a humongous porch covered with a screen and a balcony on what looks like the second floor.

"It looks so big mom!" I could hear Melanie say. I could only imagine what inside would look like. I suddenly hear the trunk pop open and bags hitting the gravel. Besides going to get my bags out of the car, I start making my way to the house. With my eyes still fixed to the white building, I climb the steps and open the screen door.

The porch is so much bigger and wider than it looked from the driveway. There was only two things on the porch. A small glass table and a wooden chair. Both looked really old, but not in the slightest bit dirty.

I open up the front door and slowly walk in. I keep my eyes on the white tiled floor scared to look up to see the inside of the magnificent house. I slowly move my head up to examine the interior.

When I finally have my head up all the way. I can't help but drop my jaw in amazement. The house looked humongous and spotless. There was a huge staircase to the right of the door and the kitchen was to the left. Hanging from the ceiling was a glorious golden chandelier. The hallways between the kitchen and the door were so wide that our car could fit through it. Farther down the hallway in front of the door was the living room with a whole entertainment studio. It was truly remarkable. Also in the living room next to a sofa and big reclining chair was a fireplace. It was probably the biggest fireplace that I've ever seen.

I have never seen such a big and beautiful house before. Only in movies. This house is so different from the little old farmhouse down in Wilmington. Even with this house being so big and magnificent, it made me miss the farm so much more. I make my way over to the stairs and look up to see it lead to another enormous hallway. Right as I'm about to go up, I hear a loud thud near the door.

"You know you could've helped us?" Melanie says looking at me with frustration. I notice that the two bags she brought in were mine. Before heading upstairs, I grab my two suitcases and take one last glance at Melanie. Still not saying a word.

Upstairs there is one bathroom, three bedrooms, and a storage room. Two of the bedrooms look the same. Both have a queen size bed with a walk in closet. But the room closest to the end of the hallway on the left is different. This bedroom has a king size bed, a walk in closet, a dresser with a mirror, and a balcony._ I take it this is the master bedroom_, I say to myself. As I walk in the room, I throw my suitcases on the bed. The room didn't have wallpaper but were painted a light shade of purple. I sat down on the bed next to the suitcases and continued to examine the room. I knew that this was going to be my room until mom got enough money to go back home.

I couldn't help but feel like this room wasn't right for me. The purple walls, enormous closet, and balcony just seemed to make me feel like a princess instead of a farm girl. I suppose I would just have to get used to it all. No matter what. I slowly stand up from the bed and turn to one of the suitcases.

"Might as well start unpacking." I mumble quietly to myself. I open one of the suitcases and begin taking out clothes. One by one I continue to pull out different pairs of clothes. After I take out my favorite gray shirt, I notice something different. Suddenly, I notice that it is my picture frame with a picture of me and my horse Rider on the farm.

I sit on the bed again and take a long look at the picture. Rider was one of the horses on our farm back home. But there was something different about Rider than any other horse. Rider was mine.

When I was nine years old, Rider was just a little baby. During that time, my mom was always busy and was having trouble feeding the animals. After awhile, my mom made me do it. Which at the time, I hated even the thought of it. After fighting with my mom about it, I went and took care of the pigs(since they were the sloppiest of all the animals), then went to the cows and sheep, and finally went to the horses. By the time I reached the horses I was exhausted and just wanted to go inside but when I looked at the little baby horse standing close to her mother, all I could think was _Awe…I've never seen anything so adorable. _She was the cutest baby horse that I have ever seen. After that day when I first noticed Rider for the first time, I went to go see her everyday. After a few months, Rider and I were inseparable.

Rider was my best friend, I loved her more than any other animal on the farm. I never wanted to lose her. Unfortunately, when mom started having trouble paying the bills she needed to sell the farm and move into another house. Along with all the animals, including Rider. Leaving Rider all alone without me is another reason why talking to my mom has become so hard. It's difficult to talk to the person that took away your best friend.

As I sit there staring at the picture, my eyes begin to tear up. Tears begin streaming down my face. Then five minutes later, I find myself sobbing on the bed unable to stop. Just as I'm about to lay down and just let the tears roll down my cheek onto the pillow, my mom enters the room.

"Hey Isabel, I see you found the master bedroom. Have you started…Isabel? Honey? Are you okay?" My mom asks concerned as she makes her way over to me. She sits on the bed next to me, pushing some clothes aside in the process. Mom then notices the picture and looks at me. By then, I knew she understood exactly why I was crying.

"Honey, you know why we had to leave. I know you don't like the decision of leaving home. I understand you don't like being here. But we are just going to have to put up with it until then. I would also really appreciate it Isabel, if you talked to me and Melanie again. You can't be quiet forever. Plus it isn't good to be silent all the time." Mom said to me while watching the tears roll down my face.

I can't stand it when people look at me when I'm crying. It makes me feel like they want me to cry and be upset. Then again, I never really know if they do or not.

Laying down on my bed, going over my mom's words in my head, I desperately wish to say something to her. But I know that she will just persistently tell me things I don't want to hear. So I just lay there and stay silent.

"Well Isabel, I can't make you do anything you don't want to do. Even if it is as simple as talking. If you refuse to talk to your family then go ahead and don't talk to us. Just don't ignore us." She stands up from the bed and walks to the door.

"Melanie and I are going to take a drive around town. If you want to go I'll give you time to get ready. We're leaving in half an hour." Mom informs me before sauntering out of the room. I turn my head to watch her leave, before sitting up again.

Looking in the mirror, I can see the tear stains on my cheeks and my bloodshot eyes. Ever since I was little, whenever I cried my eyes would get really bloodshot. No one really understood it. Not even me. I used to think that it was a problem, but now that I'm older I know that it is common to get that so I'm not as concerned as I once was. You know how when you're little you blow the slightest things out of proportion.

I splashed some warm water on my face and looked up at the mirror again. My long curly dark brown hair was slightly wet and my green eyes were starting to return into view. I had stopped crying but every time I thought of home I wanted to. Wiping my face off with the towel next to the miniature sink, I continue to think about different things. I really don't want to go with Melanie and mom on the drive but it's better than staying here. In this house especially. What fun is there in an empty house? Exactly. There isn't.

I fix my hair a little to the best it's going to get, then turn the light off in the bathroom and start making my way downstairs. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, there is a huge pile of suitcases on the floor near the door. Right as I walk up to them, mom walks out of the kitchen.

"So you're coming along? That's great! I really was hoping you would come." She says with excitement.

"Well it's better than being in this big, old, boring empty house." I reply kind of annoyed.

Before my mom could answer, I storm out the house and go sit on the porch steps. Mom was probably still standing in the hallway by the door shocked that I answered her. I only did so that it would be one less complaint that I would have to hear. The less complaints from her or Melanie was the best.

It's almost 95 degrees outside. I never really learned to get adjusted to extremely hot weather. My mom thinks it's because of my apparel. My wardrobe consists of only jeans, t-shirts, long sleeved shirts, and zipped up hoodies. Then to add on the only shoes that I have ever been caught dead in since I turned thirteen were converse. You will never see me wear anything else. If I wore anything different I wouldn't feel right. Plus another thing is I can't stand to show off skin that isn't my face or arms. Shorts, skirts, and dresses are just way too much.

I look up at the sky. I hate cloudless days. With no clouds there is nothing to keep your eyes mesmerized to the sky.

Suddenly, I hear the gravel road crunch as Melanie walks toward me.

"Hey Isabel! Are you coming with me and mom? Oh yeah….that's right you won't talk. Just never mind the question then." She asks then states in a frustrated manner. Without another word she slowly starts walking back the way she came.

"Yes." I mumble quietly but just loud enough for her to hear. Melanie instantly stops walking and turns back toward me.

"Look who's finally talking!" Melanie says with a pinch of attitude as she starts walking back to me.

"Shut up you little twit!"

"I thought you weren't going to talk ever again. You were acting like a baby, you know. Only babies don't talk to people when they get upset."

"Shut up Mel! You don't even understand why I was mad so why are you bugging me?" I stand up and yell at her before walking away.

"You stopped talking to your entire family for a month just because of a dumb old horse!" she screams at me while I'm walking away from her. As soon as I hear those words come out of her mouth, my stomach tightens with anger. My hands turn into fists along the side of my body. As I turn around everything that I have wanted to say in the past month came out.

"Rider wasn't just a dumb old horse! She was my best friend! She was the only living creature on this earth that actually took the time to listen to what I had to say and was around more when I needed someone then anyone else! Not even you or mom could ever measure up to the love that I felt or still feel for Rider! So just shut up Melanie! JUST SHUT THE HELL UP! You will never understand because guess what Mel? You're just a little 12 year old girl that will never grow up and learn to leave people alone!" I scream at the top of my lungs before turning around.

After I walk 50 more feet away from Melanie, I sit up against a tree near the driveway. With my hands still tightened into fists, I sit there silently trying desperately to calm myself.

Nothing in the world makes me more mad than Melanie. Ever since she was born, Melanie spent all of her time just trying to annoy me. She was another reason that talking wasn't an option for a month and now that I think about it, I should have kept my mouth shut just for a little while longer. But with my mom begging me to talk again and Melanie constantly talking to mom about me not talking right in front of me, was all I could handle. Go ahead and tell me that I have anger management problems, but wouldn't you have done the same thing if you had a life like mine. Of course my life wasn't all that bad. It could be worse. But right now, this had to be one of the worst things ever to happen to me and I'm pretty sure no matter what happens nothing could make this stay here in Cedar Rapids any better.

After about 5 minutes, mom comes out of the house with her purse and her car keys.

"Isabel! Why were you screaming at your sister?" she attempts to yell from all the way across the driveway. Before answering her, I get up from my sitting position against the tree and start walking toward the car to mom.

"Melanie was talking about Rider.." I tell her in a mumbled tone. I'm in no mood for mom to ask questions about the fight. We all know that Melanie is going to get the easy way out.

"Well I don't care what happened just don't argue with your sister. We just got here from a long drive and I don't need to get any more of a headache then I already have. Okay?"

"Whatever." I say while getting in the car and slamming the door. Like I said, Melanie got the easy way out. She didn't even get a single word from mom and most likely won't.

I sit in the passenger seat with my head back staring out the window, just trying to relax but know that it's not working.

"Not even the first five minutes that you're talking again since a month and the first thing you have to do is fight with Melanie." my mom continues while she starts up the car. No matter how mad her statement made me, I simply just sit there and ignore it completely knowing that replying would just be a waste of time.

The car slowly starts reversing out of the driveway. All that is audible is the sound of gravel crunching underneath the car.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Cedar Rapids is smaller than I thought it would be. Being a city, I expected it to be much bigger.

Also, I learned that our street is right off of a busy highway. On the highway, is a chain of restaurants and stores. I think we even passed a library and strip mall too.

We've only been driving for about five minutes and Melanie and mom are already having a conversation about how much they love this place. It's like they completely forgot about Wilmington and the farm. Why is it that I'm the only one that cares?

Staring out the car window looking at passing trees and restaurants, my mind was constantly thinking about Rider. I hope she is alright. Telling her I was leaving was probably one of the hardest things that I could do. Rider never liked my absence. Whenever I didn't show up to the barn to see her after school, she would stand in the barn and kick and scream. But after awhile she would calm down knowing that I probably couldn't come out to see her. As soon as she started kicking and screaming till the time that she stopped, made my heart drop. But it's been almost a week since I've seen her and I can only imagine how hard it is for her. I just wish that I could see her again.

"Isabel? Isabel?" My mom turns to me for a second trying to get my attention. Breaking off my thoughts, I take my eyes off the window and look over at my mom.

"What?" I ask kind of annoyed that I can't think in peace.

"Don't give me an attitude! I was just going to ask you a question. There is no need for an attitude."

"Alright. I'm sorry. What's your question?"

"Do you want to get something to eat? It's almost 5:30 and we haven't eaten anything since noon."

"Um….okay?" I reply. Although I'm not really hungry, I say yes anyway to avoid going back "home".

"Alright then. Where do you two want to go?"

"I don't know there is like a million restaurants out here." Looking out the window again all I can see is buildings. _Is there any open field out here anywhere?_ Of course there isn't. I should have expected this. The sad thing is, I did.

"Well there must be some place out of all these places that we haven't been to yet." Mom mumbles while looking around. "Oh hey! How about that place right there?" She quickly points out before taking a sharp turn to the right into a small empty parking lot. Mom swiftly turns the steering wheel into the first parking space in front of the small diner.

I look up at the sign hanging on the front of the small restaurant and read it. "Route 66 Diner?" I read with disgust. Mom shuts the car off and takes the keys out of the ignition before turning to Melanie and me.

"Unless you two want to go somewhere else instead we're eating here."

"This is where we are going to eat? Are you kidding me?" I say still disgusted at the fact that she wants to eat at an old country diner.

"I figured maybe we should eat someplace different for a change." There is silence in the care for a few minutes.

"I don't mind if we eat here. I'm sick of eating at the other places too." Melanie agrees.

_She's such a little suck up!_ I scream in my head. I can't stand it when she agrees with mom just so that I have no chance of getting my way for once.

"Alright, what about you Isabel?" I sit there for a few seconds trying to think about a way out of it. But end up giving up. Without giving another thought to it, I say "Whatever, I lost my choice anyway. Two against one. No matter what I choose I'm outnumbered. Like always." Before even looking at Melanie or mom, I unbuckle my seatbelt and get out of the car slamming the door behind me. Mom slowly steps out of the car with her purse and Melanie right beside her.

"It's settled then." ~~

The Route 66 Diner looks just like the old diners that you would see in a movie. I never thought I would ever see a diner like this. But yet I said the same thing about Uncle Tommy's house.

When we walked in, a young girl about the age of sixteen walked over to us.

"Three people?" The girl asked politely. Her voice sounded really girly but yet had a very sweet tone to it. She looked very pretty too with her long straight brown hair and dark blue eyes. It looked like she weighed about the same as me, 130 pounds.

"Yes." My mom answered the girl with a politeness that I've heard way more than desired. The girl then grabbed three menus and started leading us to the tables.

She seated us in the middle of the restaurant, right in front of a big window. Shortly, after all of us were seated she told us that our waiter would be out in a minute to take our orders then walked off.

While waiting for our server to arrive, I couldn't help but notice how weird the place looked. The booths were all leather and were either dark green or blue. The inside of the diner looks more country western then the outside advertised. License plates with stupid messages were hanging on the walls all around the diner and with every booth there was a medium sized wooden table in between. The bar was huge and took up a good majority of the restaurant but it looks like it hasn't served anyone in quite awhile. Behind the bar, you can see an opening in the wall exposing a large kitchen. Also near the bar was a set of double doors, which I guessed lead to the back room and the kitchen.

Being the only people in the diner is kind of awkward. At least there is a small tune playing from the speakers in the ceiling otherwise it would be quiet. Making the time here even more awkward. The tune that is coming from the speakers is country music. No surprise there.

While I'm staring off into space, I suddenly see someone out of the corner of my eye. At first, I thought it was the girl again but was mistaken when I saw a young man walk through the big wooden double doors.

He was walking toward our table with an apron that was tied behind his back. The apron was hanging from his hips to his calves. The man looked very tall and muscular. He had short brown hair and from the distance it looked like he had light blue eyes. With the muscles, he looked like he could pull off a high school football player. The man looked like he could have any girl that he wanted with just a wink of his eye.

"Hey everyone. How are you all doing this evening?" He asks politely.

"We're doing good thank you." My mom answers in the same polite tone that she used with the girl that seated us.

"That's great. Well my name is Eli and I'm going to be your server this evening. May I start you off with some drinks?"

Melanie and mom already knew what they wanted for a drink and said it almost instantly after he asked. As they told him what they wanted, he softly repeated it to himself.

"Alright, and for you miss?" Eli turns to me and asks.

While trying to answer his simple question, I can feel his gaze on me as I'm looking down at the table. Then without really thinking, I just say the first drink that comes into my mind.

"Um…ice water, please." I answer him while also returning his long term gaze.

"Okay. Your drinks will be right out." After he says this, he looks down at me and smiles before walking back through the double doors. In the meantime, I can't help but smile back as he leaves.

"Isabel thinks the waiter is cute!" Melanie yells loudly.

"Shut up! Don't you know how to be quiet?" I scream back annoyed. She's been repeating that for about five minutes. She was quiet until Eli came back with our drinks then left again to give us some time to think about what we wanted to order.

"Isabel thinks the waiter is cute!" Melanie repeats again.

"Mom, can you tell Melanie to shut up!" I scream.

"Both of you, please. Just stop fighting for one minute. It's our first time in this restaurant and I really don't want our first impression to be the worst. You're both old enough to know how to act in public. Now stop fighting." My mom states before going back to looking at the menu.

Eli slowly makes his way over to our table again but with this time a small notepad and pen.

"Are you ladies ready to order?" He asks with a deep voice that I didn't notice the first couple times he was at our table.

"Yes I believe we are." My mom says. Melanie orders the chicken fingers and fries and my mom got the cheeseburger and fries. As he is taking their orders, I can't help but stare at him from the corner of my eye. He is so handsome it is hard to believe that he works here in this small diner when he looks like he could be in a movie.

"Honey? Do you know what you want?" Mom says breaking my thoughts once again. Then I notice that Eli was turned to me waiting for me to tell him my order.

Embarrassed. I take my eyes from him and look down at the table. "Uh yeah. Um…I'll..umm…I'll just have the cheeseburger and fries also." I stutter. My face begins to turn hot and I know that I'm blushing. _Your so stupid Isabel! How did you not know that he was looking at you! You were looking right at him!_

"Okie dokie. I'll be back with your meals shortly." Eli informs before smiling at me and leaving again.

When he returned to our table with our food, I had a strange feeling. A kind of feeling like I didn't want him to leave again.

After about 20 minutes of staring out the window, I can see my mom look at me then look at my food. "Are you okay honey? You have barely touched your food?" She asked me a little concerned.

"Uh…yeah, I'm fine mom. Just not really hungry. I might just take it home with me." I tell her trying to sound like I was fine, although we all knew that I wasn't.

_What is going on with me? He's just a guy. I've seen guys before…what's my problem now? _I ask myself trying to make sense of what was going on. _I don't even know this guy! Why am I feeling so weird whenever he comes by?_

When I tune back into reality, I realize that my mom and Melanie have finished eating and are in the middle of conversation.

Eli comes back to the table again to take away the empty plates.

"Do you want me to wrap that up for you?" He asks me. As I turn to answer him, I see his eyes looking straight into mine. As I return the gaze, I notice right away how beautiful his eyes are.

"Sure. Thanks." I reply. Eli slowly takes my full plate and disperses back through the double doors. _Whoa! _Eli's eyes were more amazing up close then they were from across the diner when I saw them the first time. When I looked into his eyes I felt like I didn't have to worry about anything. It was a really strange feeling.

There was something else though that I noticed about Eli's eyes. It looked like they were trying to hide something. Something that was really important. Something not a single soul knew. It made me wonder.

After my mom paid the check, I grabbed my container of food and started walking to the door. Before I could walk out the door Eli walked to our table. Picking up the check and his tip he slowly turned toward us and said "Thanks folks. Have a nice night." He said then smiled at me one last time.

Of course on the ride back home Mom and Melanie had to discuss how much they loved this place even more. What do they see in this place that they didn't see in Wilmington? It was like everything that we once loved was now changing right before my eyes.

What's even worse is that I wasn't the only one making a fuss about leaving the farm either. When the day came when we had to leave, Melanie was crying uncontrollably and since she never acted her age, she threw a tantrum. But not even five minutes after we were on the road she stopped crying and was jamming to her stupid music. For a fourteen year old girl, Melanie acts like she is seven. Then she calls me the baby.

While trying to block out their conversation, I look up at the clouds through my window. It's starting to get dark as it is almost seven.

When we get back to the house, we take all the bags upstairs and go to our new rooms to unpack. Melanie is yelling at mom for letting me have the master bedroom. That's one fight that I don't want to be a part of. Especially since mom and I both knew it was coming.

I close my bedroom door to try and muffle the sound of screaming coming from down the hall before going back to unpacking.

The next couple of hours are spent unpacking everything out of my bags. You never realize how many things you have until you have to go through it all. I put the empty bags onto the floor across the room and lay on the bed.

I turn over on the bed to look at my alarm clock that I just unpacked and put on the nightstand. The time read 1:00 a.m. I knew that it was late but didn't realize it was that late.

"No wonder Melanie and mom grew quiet about two hours ago." I say to myself and almost got interrupted by a yawn.

As tired as I am, I get off the bed and start walking toward the balcony. I open the doors leading out to the balcony, and walk out into the cool May air. I lean up against the railing of the balcony, and look down at the driveway and then up at the sky.

The first quarter moon is shown but kind of hidden and has a few stars hanging around it. That's another thing that I'm going to miss about Wilmington more than anything. The night sky will never be the same here as it is at home. In Wilmington, the entire sky is light up by stars and floating in the river of those bright stars is the moon shining at its best. Here I know I will never get that as the highway with all its lights are just down the street.

With so many things on my mind, sleeping seems impossible. Although I'm going to have to attempt it sooner or later. The longer I stand outside on the balcony, I notice the tears that I tried to cry out today before my mom came in were finally streaming down my cheeks.

About a month ago, I never dreamed I would be moving to Cedar Rapids, I didn't know we would be moving into a magnificent house that looks like it came out of a movie, and I didn't know I was going to be crying this much. I had a feeling that my life was going to change, and the more I thought about it the more tears ran down my face.

I miss home…..


End file.
